


Autumn Gold

by 87sighs



Series: Certain Things [3]
Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 10:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21576517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/87sighs/pseuds/87sighs
Summary: Kat, Adena, and Tia on a farm. A story of plaid, puns, and the beauty of fall.
Relationships: Kat Edison/Adena El-Amin, Sutton Brady & Kat Edison & Jane Sloan, Tia Clayton/Adena El-Amin, Tia Clayton/Kat Edison, Tia Clayton/Kat Edison/Adena El-Amin
Series: Certain Things [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1471610
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Autumn Gold

The apartment smells like spicy, earthy warmth, like love and worn cotton. The kind of fragrance that gets packaged up and marketed as pumpkin pie spice at this time of year. 

Tia shifts behind Kat’s back, reaches out from their shared blanket to grab the TV remote. She lowers the volume to accommodate their discussion. If Kat turns just a bit of her attention to the bedroom she can hear the faint sounds of Adena in conversation, rhythmic and unguarded in her native language. 

As they talk, Kat’s point is that they don’t have to actually see the leaves change colors and flutter to the ground to appreciate that it’s Autumn. There’s a brightness to Tia’s voice as she argues that her idea isn’t actually hard work or exercise and it’s not painfully cold yet so now is the right time. Kat disagrees on the first but concedes the second. The weather has been gorgeous, something she doesn’t often say when the high starts falling below 70 degrees. 

Adena comes quietly back to the living room and Tia asks “How’s the family?” as she settles into the loveseat. 

There’s a lot shining from her eyes but Adena smiles, answers, “They’re doing well, thankfully.”

“That’s good.” She waits a beat, a moment for Adena to say more. When she doesn’t, “Tia wants to ask you something...else.” 

“Oh? Is that what you were whispering about?” she guesses, eyebrow slanting to a playful angle. 

Tia squeezes Kat making her giggle quick and low. 

“I think it would be fun to go apple picking. It’d be something different. I remember going on a couple school trips as a kid and really loving it.” 

Adena looks back at Kat. “And you have another idea instead.” 

“Actually, no,” Tia says for her. “My opponent doesn’t have a plan of her own, she just doesn’t like mine.” 

Kat spanks Tia’s leg, laughs, “I’mma need you to calm down.” She flips onto her back, able to see both her girlfriends at the same time. “I’m fine with it,” she tells them, “if that’s what you want to do.” 

“So why were you arguing with me then?” Her brown eyes are outlined by confusion as she looks down at Kat. 

“Because you _like_ to argue, bae. It’s funny sometimes.”

Tia rolls her eyes. 

“You do seem to enjoy it.” Adena makes a delicate noise at the back of her throat. “A lot.” 

Kat snorts, shoulders shaking, and Adena gives her a teasing grin. 

“I like healthy debate, that’s true.”

“Aaannd you always have to be right.” 

“But that’s not why I’m saying yes.” 

Tia _hmmph_ s, says “You didn’t have to come for me like this. At least I know how you really feel.” 

Kat tries to bring her down for a kiss, and Tia tells her to keep it, though her humor is starting to show through the cracks of defensiveness. 

“I do think it sounds like fun,” Adena says, “so I’m in.” 

Unanimously they have a plan. Not that Kat’s surprised at all. Adena loves the farmer’s market almost as much as Kat loves clothes shopping. And now they’re going straight to the source. 

Their attention returns to the TV eventually. Kat encourages Adena to eat dinner since she was interrupted by her mother’s call. Adena looks at the clock, then, after some hesitation, she unfolds herself from the chair to get something.

Kat frowns. She could see those shadows of nostalgia and home lingering around Adena’s happiness to catch up with her family. When she walks back over to them, small bowl in hand, Kat beckons her to the couch, not wanting Adena to sit in loneliness. 

She pulls back the fuzzy blanket, drawing Tia’s attention from the screen. 

Tia smiles, inviting, “The more, the merrier.” 

Amused, Adena looks at the available space like the math isn’t adding up. 

“Come on,” Kat pushes, “you know you want to.” 

“How could I say no?” she murmurs, fitting herself into the space by their legs. 

Love is written plainly on Kat’s face, but there’s also concern, protectiveness, and Adena can read that too as she meets Kat’s eyes. She mouths “I’m okay” with a little smile of gratitude. 

A few minutes later there’s a brief clatter of metal against ceramic as Adena puts her bowl on the side table. She stretches her body and they all have to shift a bit to make it work but they do, perfect and cozy. Adena takes Kat’s hand, brushing it with a soft kiss. 

{}{}{}

Kat puts herself in charge of transportation, which means asking her parents if she can borrow the car for a day. Adena volunteered to drive, and when Kat reminded her the New York City license was still shiny and brand new Adena smartly said, “Yes but I’ve been driving for years.” So Kat agreed to put her life in her girlfriend’s very capable but out-of-practice hands. 

It’s moot now anyway because her parents are going to a conference or something in Boston the same weekend. 

Alternative: take a train. It’ll be an hour-ish ride to town then they’ll need to get a cab from the train station to the farm, another twenty minutes. That’s like three times how long it’ll take to actually pick the apples. 

If Kat thought her girlfriends would back out she’s mistaken. 

Adena’s text back just says **_Think of it as an adventure_ ** , and Kat can distinctly hear Tia’s peppy **_It’ll be worth it!_ **

So that’s that. 

Kat sighs, “The things I do for love.” 

{}{}{}

From her gigantic windows Kat gets a preview of a nice bright day, though she can feel through the panes that the sun hasn’t totally overcome the essence of fall. She dresses in wool socks and extra layers beneath her sweater and jeans, preparing for crisp and breezy but not bitter cold. Still cute, basically. 

Tia comes to her building glowing with excitement. Kat gives her a once-over, lets laughter bubble up from deep in her chest. 

“You look like such a lesbian, just so you know.” 

Fingers dug in her pants pockets--there are several others, of course--Tia models her plaid flannel-and-vest combo, turns on the heels of her lightly scuffed boots. A wool beanie completes the look, pushed back at a cool angle to show off the curls of her ‘fro and a beautiful face. 

Smiling big, Tia says, “Rustic lesbian is exactly what I was going for, thank you.” 

She adjusts her backpack straps then curls her arm around Kat’s as they go meet Adena. Her hand ventures down at some point until her palm is pressed to Kat’s, warm and smooth. It’s something that’s been happening more recently when they’re out together. Kat’s noticed, obviously, but they haven’t talked about it or anything so she simply follows Tia’s lead. And Tia, eyes confident but alert to their surroundings, walks with her head high. 

Kat can’t be in anything less than a great mood. 

“Good morning, sunshine,” Tia greets when they see Adena later holding a cardboard tray of drinks. 

Kat immediately peeps a familiar pattern beneath Adena’s coat and asks, with this stupid happiness bouncing inside her, “Did I miss something or is this a gay thing?” 

Adena pulls back the lapel of her coat like superwoman or something, giving them a good look. Cool blues and grays to Tia’s burgundy and yellow. The aqua shade of Adena’s hijab naturally compliments the thin stripes of her shirt, brings out the prettiness of her lingering summer tan. 

Her girlfriends give each other a little perusal, smiling at the coincidence. 

“Like an apple cut in half,” Adena jokes. 

They laugh at what must be a Persian variation of “two peas in a pod”, and Tia says, “Very appropriate for the day.” 

Adena offers Tia one of the cups. “Light roast, just the way you like it.”

Tia enjoys that first hot sip, nodding, and thanks her. 

“And you told me to surprise you,” she reminds Kat with a wink, “so…” 

Kat can smell the richness of chocolate as she lifts the cup to her mouth, and the taste of peppermint mocha gives her an instant sugary jolt. 

“Thank you,” she murmurs against Adena’s cheek. “Alright then, let’s get this show on the road.” 

They settle in for the extended ride, leaving the concrete city behind. 

She doesn’t say much at first, just sits in the comfort of the warm bodies beside her, Adena slowly drinking her mint tea. But eventually the monotonous rumble of the train gets to her, and she searches for some intro to conversation.

“I used to do this almost every year, you know.” She had kept this to herself when they were planning the trip, but now Kat tells them, “With my mom and grandma usually, sometimes my dad and grandpa. We’d pick apples and pumpkins then go to grandma’s house and I’d help make pies and roast pumpkin seeds.” 

Tia turns sideways on the hard seat to look at her, asks, “How long has it been since you went together?” 

Kat struggles for a minute to remember the timeline. “A long time,” she drawls. “Before high school, for sure.” 

Yeah, it was definitely before. Fifteen-year-old Kat was preoccupied by her first Homecoming dance and the holiday break and all that good stuff, not hanging out with her family. 

“I got older, started doing my own thing, then I left for college.” She couldn’t wait to leave Connecticut behind. “Big Apple dreams,” she jokes to the amusement of Tia and Adena. “Anyway...I don’t know, I was just thinking it might be nice to visit and do something like that again.” 

Adena nods, says, “I’m sure they would love that.” 

“Yeah, it’s not too late.” 

Her mom’s parents are still alive and active. Her grandma buys Scarlet at the grocery store every month to see what her little Kat’s up to even though Kat has told her more than once she rarely features in print. But they live so close and Kat is grateful to have a relationship with them even though she’s taken it for granted. 

It’s harder with her dad’s family because they live farther away, and her dad’s mom died before Kat really got to know her or form those lasting memories.

That distance, though, isn’t nearly as drastic as the one between Adena and her family, physical or emotional. And yeah, maybe she compartmentalizes her personal life, but not like Tia, who loves her family deeply but feels a part of herself forcefully closed off from them in a way Kat doesn’t. She hurts when they do, so she understands what it means for them to encourage her now.

Kat makes up her mind to do it. For a moment, the giggles of a girl at a table covered with flour and sugar are happy echoes filling a cold place

She’s lucky, and the loving eyes she feels on her now just confirm that.

They snack on trail mix Adena stashed in her bag--her girl’s a snack queen, honestly. Tia spends some time doing a crossword puzzle, and they play silly games of I Spy. 

If the open land isn’t enough of a sign they’re not in the city anymore, the way the cab driver asks where they’re from is. Like yeah, they’re clearly tourists, but it’s the way he says it, voice flat like a razor, and his eyes in the rearview mirror. Kat wants to say something snarky _so bad_ , but she focuses on Adena’s hand patting her leg and the pleasant way Tia informs him they’re in town to visit the apple farm, tells him the area looks very nice. The leather of his seat creaks, and he kind of softens toward them after another red light. Even offers to pick them up later for the trip back to the train station, which doesn’t necessarily make Kat feel better but whatever. They just need to get where they want to go, and they can discuss later. 

The farm itself is beautiful and welcoming, a wonderland of green grass and excited voices, of trees with ombre leaves. They walk around for a minute, tempted by the smell of baked goods coming from the market area. Kat’s checking out the winery too.

First they have a mission--pick a ton of apples. 

“I don’t think we fully considered the logistics of getting these home,” Kat says once her arm starts feeling the burn. Their bag is steadily filling with fruit. 

“We can take turns carrying them.” 

“Sure, stud.” 

Tia pins her with an intense stare. “I don’t have to tell you that has more than one meaning.” 

Oh, right. 

She does know that, but Kat only meant it in the sense of her being fit, not her presentation as a gay Black woman. Tia does look cute as hell, though, for real. And if the puffy vest fits…

Kat laughs, “I said what I said.” 

Tia shakes her head, smiling just the tiniest bit. 

Adena’s snapping pictures of them, of the orchard, happily concentrating on whatever she’s seeing. 

“Hey,” Kat grabs her attention, “these apples aren’t gonna pick themselves.” 

She doesn’t respond at first, just watches Kat, unblinking. Then she takes another shot of Kat without even looking at the camera. It kind of feels like a middle finger, and Tia starts laughing under her breath. 

Adena slides the camera back into her bag, suggests, “Let’s try this section over here,” and takes the mesh bag from Kat’s hands. She’s smiling now.

“Thank you.” 

“Try to keep up, azizam.” 

  
  


When they finally, _finally_ finish, it’s back to the market, the epicenter of the action. There’s local produce, jams and sauces, people lining up for steamy apple cider. The real prize, the thing that has Kat’s mouth watering already is the apple cider donuts. There are bakeries in the city that make them, but there’s something special about eating them at a place like this and Kat hopes they’re as good as she remembers. 

Her girlfriends let her do the wine tasting first, and it’s located in the barn. God, that sounds wild. She gets to taste five for the price, some infused with apple and some not. Tia has a few sips just to say she tried. They’re tasty, and Kat decides to buy a bottle for Sutton and Jane. 

She stays behind while Tia goes off to get the cider and donuts and Adena saves a spot for them to sit. No sooner than they leave a guy tries to chat her up about how good the apple vodka is. She tells him she didn’t get that one, and undeterred, he offers to let her taste his. Gross. Kat gets out of that situation as fast as she can, hoping he doesn’t try to find her outside. 

Kat makes it to the picnic table a few moments before Tia. 

Adena takes her cider, sipping the tangy warmth of it. 

The donuts take it to another level. They’re all off their feet, three to one side of the table for this shared experience. Time basically stops, suspended in this happy, magical bubble as they savor the hot fried pastries, chewy yet still delicate inside. The gritty sugar on top dissolves into sweetness on her tongue, with just a little bite from the cinnamon.

Tia does a little shoulder bounce as she eats hers, grinning at them. 

“Delicious,” Adena agrees. 

“So worth it.” They need to stop for burgers or something on the way back ‘cause she’s mostly just eaten sugar today, but she’s loved every second. Kat takes another bites and follows it with the last of her wine. “Donuts and wine might be my new favorite.” 

Kat rubs Adena’s back as they eat and talk, let the sun’s rays shine on them. 

“I wish we could stay for sunset,” she says, wistful, like this one will be the most beautiful out of all the exotic places she’s been. 

“Well that’s like 3:00 these days, so we probably could.” 

“I don’t like Daylight Savings Time...the one in the fall.” 

Tia groans. “Me either. Join the club.” 

“Yep.” 

They wipe sugar from their hands and clothes but make no real effort to get up and leave. Kat wonders if they really are going to stall for time until sunset. 

She pulls out her phone, taking pictures and catching up with the rest of the world. 

“It’s fine, you don’t have to say it,” Tia says quietly. 

Kat assumes she’s talking to Adena seated between them, but she looks up and Tia’s leaned forward staring back at her. 

“Say what?”

“That I was right. Again.” 

Adena hides behind her cup of cider. It’s Kat’s turn to roll her eyes. She reaches over to squeeze Tia’s shoulder, shaking her. 

They don’t get to see dusk but it’s still a memorable journey back home--golden.

{}{}{}

“H-hi?” 

Jane falters in the doorway to her apartment the next day, taken aback by the half-full bag thrust at her. 

“Behold the fruits of my labor.” Kat grins from ear to ear. 

Her friend just waves her in. 

Sutton doesn’t even look up from her phone, says, “Yeah, yeah, I heard,” right when Kat opens her mouth to speak.

Kat presents the bottle in her other hand. 

“I also brought wine.” 

“Now you’re talking.” Sutton smiles approvingly. “Pop that bitch open and let it breathe.” 

Jane gets glasses while Kat takes a seat. The bag thumps against the coffee table. 

“Seriously, though, please take these. I’m starting to feel like Bubba from _Forrest Gump_ thinking of all the ways to eat them.” 

Fried, baked, raw as snacks, smoothies, in salads…

“Pie, Jane? Cobbler?” Sutton asks when she sinks next to Kat. “Your pick.” 

“I want the one you’ll help me make.” 

Sutton swings her head in Kat’s direction. “Whichever one Betty Crocker helps get the ingredients for.” 

“We’re in this together, is what you’re saying? That’s what I’m getting right now.” 

“Yes, friend.” 

“That’s exactly what we’re saying.”

Kat leans her head back, pretending to think. 

“How do you make an apple turnover?” 

Jane gets excited, says, “Ooh, my nana used to make--” 

“I don’t know, Kat. How _do_ you make an apple turnover?”

Jane looks a little confused then irritated that she didn’t see the setup. 

Kat grins and she knows it’s stupid but, “Push it down hill.” 

“Ha.”

Sutton sticks out her tongue. “No.” 

“I have more.” 

Two voices echo, “Of course you do.”

Laughing, Kat pours them all a glass then toasts, “To apple-ly ever after.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
